THE BOY FROM CLEARWATER: BOOK 1
by Yu Pei-Yun, illustrated by Zhou Jian-Xin, translated by Lin King
Taiwan, 1930s.
Tsai Kun-lin, an ordinary boy, was born in Qingshui. He grew up happily sneaking into the sugar cane fields reciting nursery rhymes he couldn’t understand, despite Japanese occupation looming over him. As war emerges, Tsai’s memories shift to military parades, air raids, and watching others face conscription into the army. After the war comes a new era under the rule of the Chinese National Party, and the book-loving teenager tries hard to learn Mandarin and be a good son. He believes he is finally stepping towards a comfortable future, but little does he know, a dark cloud awaits him ahead.
Taiwan, 1950s.
In his second year at Taichung First Senior High School, Tsai had attended a book club hosted by his teacher. This comes back to haunt him when he is consequently arrested on a charge of taking part in an “illegal” assembly. After being tortured into a false confession, he is sentenced to ten years in prison and eventually sent to Green Island for “reformation.” Lasting until his release in September 1960, Tsai, a victim of the White Terror era, spent ten years of his youth in prison, experiencing unspeakable horrors as well as unimaginable kindnesses. But he is now ready to embrace freedom.
For fans of Persepolis and March comes an incredible true story that lays bare the tortured and triumphant history of Taiwan, an island claimed and fought over by many countries, through the life story of a man who lived through its most turbulent times.
Type: Graphic Novel
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
Publication: November 21, 2023
ISBN: 9781646142798
Type: Graphic Novel
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
Publication: November 21, 2023
ISBN: 9781646142804
PRAISE
★ “The stupendous achievements here are many: a synergistic literary success; a historic record of twentieth-century Taiwan; the remarkable account of a boy’s life; and a triumph of translation by gifted polyglot King… an exemplary tribute to an extraordinary hero.”
—Booklist (starred)
“A story of persistence, both hopeful and chilling, and a powerful vision of the personal implications of Taiwan’s mid-century history.”
—School Library Journal
“Stunning.”
—Kirkus
About Yu Pei-Yun
Yu Pei-Yun graduated from the Department of Foreign Language, National Taiwan University and holds a doctoral degree in Human Science from Ochanomizu University, Japan. Currently teaching at the Graduate Institute of Children's Literature at National Taitung University, she is devoted to the studies of Children's Literature and Culture. Yu also writes, translates, critiques, curates exhibitions about and plans the publication of children's literature.
About Zhou Jian-Xin
Zhou Jian-Xin holds a master's degree from the Graduate Institute of Plastic Arts, Taipei National University of the Arts and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Children's Literature at National Taitung University.
About Lin King
Lin King is a writer and translator from Taipei, Taiwan. Her work has appeared in publications including Boston Review, Joyland, Asymptote, and Columbia Journal, and has won the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. She translates from Mandarin Chinese and Japanese to English, and her translation of Yang Shuang-zi's Taiwan Travelogue is forthcoming from Graywolf Press.
